1. Field
The following description relates to a memory, and more particularly, to a configuration of a non-volatile mass storage memory and an input/output processing method using the mass storage non-volatile memory.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an embedded system uses a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) as a main memory to run software, a NOR flash memory to store and execute codes, and a NAND flash memory to store user data.
DRAM provides comparably fast read/write speed and enables byte-access, but because DRAM is a volatile memory, power consumption may be substantially large due to a regular refreshing process. Accordingly, DRAM is generally used to store read/write (R/W) data of software.
NOR flash memory is a non-volatile memory that enables byte access. While NOR flash memory has as a fast read speed, write speed is comparably slow. As a flash memory, it is also subject to the erase-before-write limitation. Therefore, NOR flash memory is generally used to perform execute-in place (XIP) and to store codes whose updates are not necessary.
NAND flash memory typically only supports input/output (I/O) processing in units of pages (usually 2 KB), and thus it is generally not used to execute codes or store software R/W data. However, due to its characteristics including the fast R/W speed in transmitting mass data, inexpensive costs and high capacity, NAND flash memory is generally used to store user data.
As described above, since various memories are utilized in different ways and have different functionalities, designing a system including these various memories increases design complexity as well as manufacturing costs.